The present invention relates to exothermic heat exchangers and particularly heat exchangers of the type employed for cooling of compressed refrigerant gas discharged from a compressor, which are often referred to as condensers due to the change of state of the refrigerant from a gas to a liquid during cooling. In providing condensers for refrigerant gasses and the associated conduits for connection to the other components of the refrigerant system, it has heretofore been the practice to incorporate a filter/drier in the system conduits on the discharge or downstream side of the condenser.
In refrigerant systems employed for vehicle passenger compartment air conditioning systems, it has been common practice to mount a drier/filter on the vehicle body at a location generally adjacent the condenser such that the conduit connections from the drier/filter to the expander for the evaporator intake are maximized to continue the cooling function of the condenser. This arrangement permits any condensed refrigerant gas discharging from the condenser to be further cooled by the filter/drier and the conduits leading to and from the filter/drier thereby ensuring that only high pressure liquid refrigerant enters the expander.
In vehicle air conditioning systems, the competitive nature of the marketplace dictates that the cost of the air conditioning refrigerant system be minimized. Accordingly it has been desired to reduce the number of conduit connections and fittings required for a vehicle air conditioning system and particularly those of the type employed in mass produced passenger automotive vehicles. It has thus been desired to provide a way or means of incorporating a filter/drier into an automotive air conditioning system with a minimum of conduit fittings and connections.